


Jam Buds & Musical Theatre

by JosephThropp



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Musicals, Sexual Humor, Slice of Life, Theatre Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24077113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JosephThropp/pseuds/JosephThropp
Summary: Inspired by their favorite TubeTube video essayists, Steven and Connie begin making their own series of videos discussing their favorite musicals. Strong opinions and enthusiastic gushing naturally follow.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	Jam Buds & Musical Theatre

**Author's Note:**

> I started listening to the SU Podcast 2 years too late, but the in character interviews gave me the idea of Steven and Connie hosting an online show. Then one of Connie's lines about how her family only listens to movie soundtracks gave me the best idea for what they could talk about.
> 
> Please note that the alternate history that the show has resulted in a reality where movie musicals never went out of style so they're all adapted to film and everything is fair game.

It couldn’t have been more than ten seconds after Steven had pulled up in front of her house that Connie’s front door swung open, with the girl in question briskly stepping out on her porch. The door was shut behind her with the same surprising speed, with Connie stopping just long enough to lock it up before dashing for Steven’s car.

“Looks like someone’s excited for karaoke.” Steven spoke with a bit of a chuckle as Connie opened his passenger door, sliding into the car with a grin. 

“Um, duh! I always win at karaoke!” 

“You can’t win at karaoke, Connie. It’s not a competition.” 

“Well, we can agree to disagree.” She laughed a bit at the way he rolled his eyes in response, given that there was an undeniable sort of affection in the way that he did so. “Oh, that reminds me! I have your copy of _The Sound of Music!"_

Turning away for a moment, Connie reached into her tote bag while Steven slowly pulled away from the house. She pulled said movie out from among all the clutter a moment later, placing it into the backseat of the Dondai. 

“Oh, thanks! Did you get a good grade on your paper?” Connie had borrowed the movie about two weeks ago, intending to use it for a paper in one of her elective classes. Writing on Film, or something like that. There was a final project with a free choice of subject, and the two of them had sifted through Steven’s expansive movie collection before she’d settled on that one. 

“Yeah, Mr. Goldberg said I did excellent work highlighting a lot of the film’s subtler contributions to the movie musical genre. Apparently, he hasn’t seen many dissertations on the whole history of that situation.” 

“History? There’s history about musicals?” Steven chuckled. “Is it that serious?” 

“Oh, undeniably! There was this entire oversaturation of movie musicals around the 1960’s that nearly killed the genre! A bubble that was _this_ close to bursting!” Connie sat up a little straighter in the passenger seat, holding her thumb and index finger barely half an inch apart to emphasize her point. “A TubeTube video essayist I really like did a whole thing on it.” 

Ah, the TubeTube video essayist. An entire group that Steven would likely never had happened upon himself if not for Connie. She had such an affinity for good media analysis. It had started with long-form retrospectives on individual seasons of _Under the Knife_ that Steven had begrudgingly agreed to watch with Connie. At first, it was hard to sit through over an hour of someone just talking about a TV show, even if it was one he liked. After a full playlist, though, something clicked. Now, Steven was just as invested in these essays as Connie. 

Considering the number of essayists they watched, Steven could hazard a guess which one Connie was talking about. He could somewhat remember the video popping up in his subscription feed, only for him to add it to his huge pile of videos in his “Watch Later” queue. That thing was getting pretty big. He made a mental note to tidy it up sometime soon. 

In the meanwhile, he couldn’t deny being genuinely interested in whatever history Connie was getting at. “So what stopped the bubble from bursting?” Even if the story wasn’t nearly as interesting as it sounded, Steven would still be happy just listening to Connie gush about it. 

“Well, all the Kansas studios started getting nervous when their musicals started bombing. Laugh-O-Gram Studios even laid an egg with this one movie that they marketed the heck out of!” She laid a finger on her chin, recalling the details of the story as far as she could remember. This had all just kind of been part of the background of her paper’s real topic. 

“Woah, a Laugh-O-Gram musical made less than a bajillion dollars? Things really _were_ bad.” 

“I _know!_ They own everything now, but even _they_ couldn’t save the sinking ship! It looked like things were hopeless, but _Hello, Dolly_ came out and did better than anyone expected it to after the studio that had been sitting on the rights made some big changes!” Connie’s grin grew a little wider as she went on, really starting to get into the story. This was where it really got good, after all! “They stopped worrying about finding a bankable star, and brought in the actress from the Broadway production who really stole the show! That ended up being their saving grace, I think.” 

“Oh! I know her! She’s the one with the really unique, deep voice, right?” 

“Yes, yes! She had that unmatchable vibrato!” Connie sighed a bit, suddenly smiling a little sadly. “She passed away recently. One of the articles I read about it cited her as the actress who saved the movie musical. I think that’s a pretty accurate title.” 

It was a little strange after the story had just drifted to a little bit of a depressing place, but Steven couldn’t help but feel happy anyway just listening to Connie tell it. He reached across the seat divider to grab one of her hands in her lap, giving it a squeeze. “You’re really good at telling stories. Just like a video essayist. They should pay you to read audio books.” 

Even with his eyes firmly on the road, Steven could tell that she was blushing in the brief little pause that followed. She did eventually pull her hand away, only to give his arm a light and playful little push. “Ha, you’re the one with the eloquent speaking voice. I’m just the dork who gets really excited to talk about my favorite things.” 

“But you’re my favorite dork! And you talk so good! You could totally make videos just as good as the ones we watch on TubeTube.” 

That earned him a laugh. One that didn’t quite bring him as much joy as it normally would, considering the implication behind it. “Maybe I’ll just text you all my thoughts when I wake up at 3 AM and start writing entire scripts in my head, then.” She piped up between giggles, still treating it all like a big joke. 

“Head full, many thoughts.” 

“You look at too many memes.” 

“Oh! Did I show you the one where it’s ‘head full,’ but with the anime bunny in the pink hood?” Steven went starry eyed as he suddenly remembered the image he’d stumbled across somewhere on the internet. “That one was _very_ important.” 

“Important enough you showed it to me about four or five times.” Connie’s giggles finally slowed, giving way to a happy little sigh while she looked out the window at the passing scenery. As much as it was silly to think about actually doing something like what Steven was suggesting, she couldn’t deny a little part of her that liked the sound of it. “It _is_ kinda fun, just talking about stuff with you. It wouldn’t be the same with just me, though. I need my better, biscuit-ier half to play off of.” 

“I could do that!” Steven quickly assured. 

“Wait, really?” Connie looked away from the window, turning in her seat to better face Steven. 

“Of course! I mean I’ve still got the film equipment we used to make Little Homeschool commercials, plus my old TubeTube account! That’s like, 48 free subscribers from my old videos!” It had been so long since Steven had uploaded anything on that old account anyway, he’d be happy to see it go to better use than gathering virtual dust. “Plus, y’know, it’d just be fun to talk with you about stuff you like!” 

Steven blushed at that last statement, and Connie’s own face flushed even worse than before. Ugh, stars. How in the world did she wind up with the most devoted sort of person? Was she just that lucky? 

“...Okay, let’s do it!” After a moment’s hesitation, she finally agreed, giving a quick little pump of her fist. “Let’s go to your place _right_ now! I’m _pumped_ , I’m _inspired_ , and I wanna make videos with my _boyfriend!”_

Though he brightened at Connie’s initial agreement, Steven’s excitement flagged a little as she went on. “Uh, I’m hyped to get to it too, but don’t you wanna get to our karaoke reservation? Where Daniel and Patricia are waiting for us?” 

Connie blanched a bit. Had she really gotten so wrapped up in the idea that she’d almost advocated for ditching her friends? “Oh, sorry, sorry! Let’s still go! I just got too excited.” She shrunk back into the passenger seat, feeling more than a little foolish. Thankfully, Steven would never fail to succeed in ridding her of any such feelings. 

Just a moment later, his hand reached out to grasp one of hers yet again. “Next week. Whatever day you can get away from your studies.” 

Another little squeeze, and suddenly all of Connie’s apprehension faded away. She looked to Steven with a wobbly little smile, fighting to keep the happy tears in her eyes from falling. “Yeah. Next week.” 

* * *

Just as he’d promised. Steven had procured them a wonderful set up only a week later. A corner of his room was cleared away, with a solid green tarp set up on the wall and two chairs situated in front of it. Even Greg had pitched in with some good audio equipment, including a snowball mic that looked so pristine that Connie almost felt bad using it for this. It seemed like something that belonged in an actual production, not a silly little passion project. 

“Steven, have I told you that you work way too hard for little old me?” Connie fiddled with the hem of her green tee as she sat in one of the chairs, feeling just a little self-conscious now that they were so close to actually starting this whole thing. Steven instantly picked up on that. 

“Twice now, and I’ve got the same response for you as last time.” He stopped fiddling with the camera long enough to turn around, booping Connie’s nose with one finger. “You’re worth every bit of effort and more.” With that, he turned back to the camera, adjusting just a few more settings before they got started. “I think we’re just about ready. Are you good to do the intro?” 

As ready as she was going to be. They’d come this far, no sense in backing out now. “Yeah. Whenever you’re ready.” 

“Alright! Then we...are...rolling!” Steven hit a button on the camera before turning and hopping into his own seat, getting comfortable and giving Connie an expectant look. 

Alright, this was it. The first step on probably the biggest project Connie had ever been a part. Well, maybe second biggest. Dismantling an oppressive intergalactic empire might’ve had this beaten by _just_ a little bit. Regardless, this was still a big deal. She took another moment to steel herself before finally looking to the camera with a smile, hands folded in her lap. 

“Hello, TubeTube! I’m Connie, and this is my boyfriend—” 

“Hi, I’m Steven! You probably already know that because this used to be my channel!” He gave a wave as Connie gestured to him, running through their practiced intro with ease. They’d really nailed this part after about a hundred rehearsals. 

“Yep! We recently had the idea to emulate some of our favorite video essayists with a series of discussion based videos, all about one of our favorite things!” Connie paused to look to Steven, giving him the floor. 

“Musicals! And we’re starting with one of the best ones out there!” Steven suddenly turned to reach behind him, picking something up from behind his chair. When he turned, he displayed a DVD case to the camera, featuring a woman in white whispering into the ear of a green-skinned witch with ruby lips quirked up into a smirk. “ _Wicked!_ ” 

The grin that adorned Steven’s face was positively infectious. Connie’s own smile grew as she nodded, already getting into the swing of things. “That’s right! As you can see, we even went the extra mile and decided to rep the merch!” She moved her hands behind her head, giving the camera a better look at her shirt. The green tee was emblazoned with the musical’s logo scrawled in black text across the chest. 

Steven followed her lead, reaching down to do up his zipper after setting the DVD aside. His pink jacket was replaced with a grey hoodie, with the same logo pictured on the torso in green text. “This was an easy choice because it’s one we’ve both actually seen! Not just the movie, either! I mean in person!” He struck a quick pose to show off the hoodie, hamming it up just a bit more than was necessary. 

“My parents already like soundtracks, so stuff like a ticket to a musical every now and then isn’t a hard sell.” Connie could still remember that trip to the theater with her dad, and they way they’d both been reduced to tears by the finale. She turned to Steven, giving him an inquisitive look. “It’s a little weirder for you, though. You said the gems like it?” 

“Well, mostly Pearl. She’s listened to it with me before, and said something about some kind of personal attachment to it? I dunno.” Steven shrugged, honestly unsure of just what to make of Pearl’s affinity for the musical. Of course she liked fancy stuff like art, but this was kind of a modern thing. Definitely not Pearl’s usual jam. “Maybe she just empathizes with Elphaba.” 

Boy, did that ever resonate with Connie. She leaned forward in her chair, gripping the armrests while beaming at the mere mention of the musical’s main character. “Oh my gosh, can we just gush about Elphaba for like, this entire video?!” 

Predictably, Steven answered in turn. He mirrored her posture, leaning forward with intense, starry eyes. “Yes, please, I would die for her!” 

The undignified little squeal that Connie gave in response was something that she could only ever do with this person who was just as nerdy as her and that she loved so much. It took a great amount of effort to rein it in, especially when all she wanted to do was charge on. “Okay, okay, okay! Fair warning for our audience!” She stopped long enough to face the camera, pointing its way. “If you haven’t seen _Wicked_ and don’t want spoilers, you’ve officially got five seconds to click away from this video!” 

Those five seconds may as well have been an eternity. It was a struggle to keep their mouths shut the whole while, with Steven being the first to open up once he’d counted off each second in his head. 

“I love her so much, she’s so powerful and yet so compassionate at the same time!” It was a relief for him to finally get the words out, enough that he actually slumped back a bit in the chair once he did. 

“Literally! Like, how do I _be_ you?!” Connie echoed the sentiment, fists clenched tightly. “They took this simple and straight to the point villain from a classic piece of media, and entirely transformed her into this awesome activist with a grey morality!” 

“Oh, yeah, that’s one way to put it.” Steven’s excitement fizzled a bit, though didn’t dissipate entirely. He gave an uncomfortable little chuckle, but quickly shifted back into an eager expression. “I just really identified with her whole power arc. Like, she didn’t ask for all this weird magic, or her weird skin, or her weird family issues, but she owned it and made the most of it, plus she sang the best songs ever while doing it!” 

That was a good enough segue for Connie, who suddenly gasped. She scooted her chair closer to Steven’s reaching out to grip his arm. “Oh, songs! We have to talk about the best songs!” 

“Yes! On the count of three, let’s both say our favorite, okay?” He asked. 

“Okay!” With a nod, Connie began the countdown. “One, two, three—” 

_“_ ** _Defying Gravity!_ **” Both chimed in at the same time, speaking the title in perfect sync. They shared a look and didn’t say a word for a moment after saying it, but quickly broke out into a fit of giggles. Connie leaned over in her chair to press her head against Steven’s, absolutely tickled at their ever-present mental synchronization. 

“Is that song similar to what it feels like to use your floaty powers? Like belting an F note?” It was mostly asked in jest, with Connie poking Steven’s chest playfully. Of course, Steven answered with all sincerity anyway. 

“Actually, I think it kind of is like that? Like, I don’t have to sing, but I gotta harness my emotions to work it how I want to. Maybe I should try belting while floating, though, just to see what happens.” 

Connie giggled as she sat up straight again. “Okay, but don’t try to do the Elphaba songs. We’re not part of the one percent of the population that can hit those notes.” 

“Well, my vocal range is probably too low. I bet you could do it, though!” 

That was enough to get a full on laugh from Connie, causing Steven to frown in response. “Steven, we better stick to doing these songs in karaoke. I think our voices would just about _die_ if we ever tried to seriously play Elphaba or Glinda.” 

“Oh, I would _love_ to play Glinda.” Steven sighed dreamily as he propped his face up on one hand, staring off into space with half-lidded eyes and a grin. 

“I think you just wanna wear all her costumes.” 

“Um, can you blame me? Every single costume that Glinda and Madame Morrible wore was beautiful, and really pretty, and I want them all.” This was apparently a matter of contention for Steven, as he crossed his arms and put on a very serious expression. 

Connie, not at all phased, crossed her own arms and leaned back with a fond smile. That was certainly an interesting bit of imagery. “Heh, my pretty witch boyfriend. Which costume was your favorite?” 

“Wow, Connie, insensitive much? Would you ask Kofi which of his daughters is his favorite?” The serious demeanor didn’t leave Steven for a second, even as Connie absolutely cracked up in response to his question. He did eventually concede, visibly relaxing a bit as he answered. “Probably Glinda’s bubble dress.” 

“Aww, the big poofy one with all the sparkles?” Connie asked between bouts of full-body laughter. 

“Sparkles, petals, off-the-shoulder sleeves, that pretty crown, a freaking magic wand!” Steven counted off the outfit’s many features on his fingers as he rattled them off, growing more intense with each one he listed. Clearly he was very passionate about his perceived beauty of this costume. “I mean, seriously! You can’t look me in the eyes and tell me that it’s not stunning. You cannot do it.” 

It took a minute for her to rein it in, but Connie finally hummed in agreement after quieting her laughter. “Alright, it _is_ a very pretty dress. And I’m sure you’d look wonderful in it. Steven, the Goodest Witch of the Shore.” 

Steven’s expression softened, grinning at the title. “Heh. Goodest Witch.” 

With him appeased, Connie focused back on her own thoughts. “It’s a weird answer, but I really like Nessarose’s governess outfit. It had this unique gothic aesthetic that no other costume in the show had, and it even worked in the shoes and tights from the original _Wizard of Oz_ film! I don’t know how they managed to work in striped tights without it looking super silly, but they did it!” 

“Well, of course _you’d_ think that.” 

“What does that mean?” Connie quirked an eyebrow, inviting Steven to extrapolate on whatever he was getting at. 

“Well, you’re all smart and analytical. You actually think about the design of the costume, and how it fits into the world.” That was a bit of an unexpected twist. Connie blushed a bit at the compliment, looking off to her side and smiling. “I just like the costumes that are the prettiest. Like, wow. Galinda’s popular dress is all pink and frilly. Ten outta ten!” 

“Oh, give yourself some credit! I’m sure your thought process is more complicated than that!” 

“Really?” 

“Maybe a tiny bit.” Connie held up two fingers with the slightest amount of space between them. The two shared a smile, Connie shifting back to the topic a moment later. “Any other pressing thoughts about the musical?” 

“Hm…” Steven pressed a finger to his chin in contemplation, attempting to sort through his thoughts. There was so much to say about the score, the lyrics, the characters, the set pieces, and more! How could he sufficiently sum it all up in just one statement? 

He looked up to the camera after a moment, having been hit with the inspiration necessary to conclusively craft that statement. “It’s really good, and I really like it, and I think everyone should try and see it!” 

Connie couldn’t have said it any better herself. “Well, there you have it, TubeTube! You gotta trust that statement, especially coming from this face!” She reached over to pinch one of Steven’s chubby cheeks, still pushed up as he smiled for the camera. 

Sorting through her own final thoughts, Connie removed her hand from Steven’s face, reaching down to pick up the DVD instead. She pulled it close, inspecting the back of the case and running a finger over it. “We could probably go on about this forever, there’s a whole lot more to this than what we just talked about. I guess I can end off by saying that it’s kind of a miracle this show turned out as good as it did.” 

“Why’s that?” Steven asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well, the book the musical is based on is way different, and part of a series. It’s really complicated and deals heavily with corruption, religion, sexuality, and the innate futility of peaceful political reform.” Even though they were probably intended for an audience just a little older than her, Connie had still binged the entire series after discovering the musical. Good books, just very weird. “Plus, the composer is successful, but he’s made some stinkers before. He worked on a musical that was so bad, some people said they should make war criminals perform it on tour!” 

“Woah. What’s it about?” 

“A baker, and bread.” 

“Hey, that’s pretty cool. I love bread!” 

“Everyone loves bread, Steven, but nobody likes that musical!” Connie shook her head, disappointed just thinking about the recordings she’d heard. The first hand accounts from an actress’ auto-biography. Horrible. “It’s messy, and the female lead doesn’t do anything but sing a single good song while flitting back and forth between the two male leads!” 

“Wow. Too bad the Diamonds found actual ways to atone for their crimes. Otherwise, we could make them do that tour.” Steven chuckled a bit at the thought. 

“That’s kind of a terrifying thought, but at least they’d make it sound good. Yellow would make a great Geneviève.” 

“Oh, what about the _Wicked_ books? Do you think I’d like them? I really liked _The Unfamiliar Familiar_ series, and that was about witches too!” 

Oof. That was a loaded question. As much as Connie enjoyed the _Wicked_ books, she wasn’t sure that they were quite... _right_ for Steven. He might not be at the right point in his life to really get as much as he could out of the books. 

“Well, there’s a lot to love about the books, but I don’t know if they’re things that _you_ would love.” Connie pressed her fist against her chin, considering what the best way to approach this might be. Things got pretty weird right out of the gate, with how wild the first book could be. “Steven, do you know what the word... _sodomize_ means?” 

“Oh, that’s like an expression, right?” Steven didn’t so much as flinch at the word, still smiling away like it wasn’t a big deal. “Y’know, like ‘that guy had some real _sodom eyes,_ ’ or something like that?” 

Connie inhaled through her nose. Nope, definitely not ready. “Why don’t you just put that series on the backburner for a while?” 

Even with disappointment written across his features, Steven seemed willing to let the issue go. “Aw, alright.” He cast his gaze down at the floor, but looked up with a smile back on his face after a moment. “Well, I guess that’s it then. Do you wanna start the outro?” 

“Oh, sure! Guess it’s time to wrap up!” Connie smoothed out her shirt a bit before turning back to the camera. “Thank you so much to everyone out there for watching! We’re really glad you took time out of your day to watch, and we hope you’ll stick around to watch us talk some more next time!” 

Steven capped off the ending with a peace sign thrown up at the camera, with an added wink for good measure. “We love ya, bye!” 

The two held on the pose for a moment, with Steven eventually hopping off the chair and heading for the camera. “Alright, we got it! I’ll make sure to edit this and get it posted this week!” 

Standing from her own seat, Connie walked up behind Steven and wrapped her arms around his soft torso for a quick hug, pecking the side of his face. “Great! This really was so fun, thank you for convincing me to do this!” 

Once the camera had powered down, Steven turned in the embrace to wrap his own arms around Connie. He went so far as to return the affection with a quick peck on her forehead. “Anything to see that smile!” 

The two held together for another minute, until finally Connie detached herself from his grasp. “Alright, I’ve gotta get going. Lots of work to be done, as always.” She walked towards the bedroom balcony, swinging one door open and lifting two fingers to her mouth and giving a shrill whistle out into the open. 

“Alright, be safe on the way home. Text me when you get there safely!” Steven called as he began to take the camera down, removing it from the tripod. 

“I will!” Connie gave a confirmation just as Lion leapt up onto the balcony, already lowering himself to a kneel and allowing her to climb on a little easier. A moment later, the two were careening through a pink portal, leaving Steven alone in his room. 

Though he smiled after her for a few moments, Steven’s smile eventually faltered as he gave a beleaguered little sigh. He regarded the camera with a frown that bordered on being a pout. “Man, I hate editing.” 

Well, nothing to be done for it now. He’d need to get to work right away if he wanted to have it done in a timely manner. At least there was some semblance of a silver lining he could hold on to throughout the entire process. If Connie’s smiles were this lovely while just _filming_ the video, Steven could only imagine how radiant she’d look when she got to see the final product. 

That was just enough of a happy thought to suddenly make the job feel just a tiny bit easier. 


End file.
